Solex 4A1 carbs are known for warping at the first sign of warmth apparently, and I've subsequently found out carburetted Bentley Turbos are prone to plenum chamber fires as a result. I think an afternoon sat on top of a multistorey in the heat led to a warped carb. I think it was flooding from the first second I cranked, and thus wouldn't fire. Eventually one cylinder filled and it locked. But this is all conjecture - given that this is all that survived.
I'm doing these as hyperlinks as they aren't for the faint hearted. Don't look if you're easily shocked.
A photograph captured at the split second it went up by a friend photographing the repair procedure on a burst mode for me
CCTV from about half a second later.
In both, I'm still in there. This was the second attempt at purging fuel. The first time, fuel sprayed everywhere so I got my girlfriend out of the car and made her stand in fresh open air on the next level. I also feel guilt that the situation could have resulted in her death or injury were it not for fate, and that ultimately it's a situation she wouldn't have been in were it not for me. If a spark had caught the first time, it wouldn't just have been me in there.
I also feel guilt for the fact that there were things I couldn't save. As well as my girlfriend's bag and possessions, as well as my own stuff (mostly replaceable and replaced) there were 3 big items of sentiment that were lost.
1: The jacket I was wearing when she and I first saw each other across a railway station.
2: A lapel pin she got me for our first Christmas.
3: In my passport in my pocket, I kept a note she had written me on our second date.
I feel bad there because I know I had time to save them. I didn't because she shouted it wasn't worth it, and I didn't want to put her through watching me dive into the blazing car. But these are things that my decision meant were lost forever, as a result of a situation that wouldn't have happened had I not chosen to take the Bentley that day.